Boulder smashes into Nu'uanu home
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| Rose Hamakado was cleaning her yard when a boulder measuring 10 feet around hit the corner of the house. Honolulu Police Department officer Jon Hinazumi, who was the first officer on scene two years ago when Dara Rei Onishi was killed in a similar accident nearby, was amazed such a freak event could happen in the same place twice.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser |
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
Rose Hamakado dodged death yesterday when she stumbled out of the path of a 1 1/2-ton boulder that barreled out of the tree line behind her Nu'uanu Valley home, skipped into the air and shattered a corner of her house.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
The accident happened on the same street where 26-year-old Dara Rei Onishi was crushed to death in 2002 by a 5-ton boulder that tore through her bedroom while she slept.
A heavy boulder narrowly missed Rose Hamakado of 2745 Henry St. in Nu'uanu. It punched a hole in her home after rolling down a nearby mountain.
Hamakado surveys the mess created by the huge boulder, which punched a hole in her master bedroom. Her husband, Bert, left, and two Honolulu police officers observe from the hill.
At about 4:10 p.m. yesterday, Hamakado, whose house abuts the Nu'uanu mountain slope, said she was cleaning up rubbish behind her home when she heard branches breaking. She said the noise got louder and she looked up in time to see the rock level her chain link fence and skip into her yard.
Hamakado said she jumped out of the way as the boulder went airborne and smashed the back left corner of her house before stopping on her lower patio. The rock left a gaping hole in her master bedroom. Hamakado escaped with a scratch on her left hand that she got as she moved out of the way.
"I think I was dead. I'm lucky it went another way," said Hamakado, who has lived in her white house on Henry Street for 23 years. She said no rocks have ever rolled down her hill before.
Yesterday's accident brought back stark memories for Honolulu police officer Jon Hinazumi. He was the first officer on scene two years ago when Onishi was killed. He said it was remarkable that such a freak accident could happen in the same place twice.
This time, he said, "At least nobody got hurt."
Onishi's family is suing the owners of the property where they think the boulder originated.
Stephen Martel, a geologist with the University of Hawai'i, was called to the scene by police to assess the potential danger of other rocks rolling down the hill. He hiked 150 yards up the slope, but was unable to find the origin of the boulder before nightfall forced his descent.
He told police that he did not think evacuating residents on the street was necessary.
This morning, Martel said he was not sure if he would return to the site, because he would need permission from its owner.
Charlene Unoki, acting assistant administrator for the Department of Land and Natural Resources' land division, said state geologists will not be investigating the cliffside, because the property where the boulder came from is privately owned. Tax map key records show it is owned by Michael and Harold Schnack, she said.
Harold Schnack is out of town. Michael Schnack did not return calls for comment, but his wife said the land is zoned for conservation and too steep to hike on.
State geologist Glenn Bauer today said the land above Henry Street has not been inspected by the state — even after the boulder killed Onishi — because of private ownership.
Bauer said the winter rains likely affected conditions on the ridge.
"Rain will affect it, obviously," he said. "With clays expanding and contracting in weathered rock, any kind of expansion and contraction will cause something to come down."
Yesterday, officers visited three houses to the left and right of Hamakado's, informing neighbors about the accident but leaving the decision to stay or leave with them.
"We have a barrier built up there. It is God's will. If it comes, it comes," said Donald Chun, who lives two houses up the street from Hamakado.
Since Onishi's death, neighbors have been wary of boulders. Police said the owners of the empty lot to the left of Hamakado's home built a $58,000 steel barrier to protect the site of their future home.
"It worries me about this hillside now because we're so close to the mountain," said Patty Schmitz, a fourth-grade teacher at Iolani School who lives four houses away. "With all the torrents of rain, it's inevitable something would come down."
Hamakado, who lives in the house with her husband, Bert, her aunt, and a tenant, Tom Kerian, said the boulder looked like a thrown baseball coming down the hill. The boulder clipped tree branches and cracked a concrete wall in the back yard before landing in Hamakado's lower patio.
Police said the boulder zigged-zagged down the mountain, hopping and skipping its way into Hamakado's house. Martel, the UH geologist, marked impact points on the slope with red tape.
Hamakado said an insurance agent would be out today to assess the damage. She said she did not know what to do with the boulder, and suggested using it as a table.
"Upstairs saved me," she said, gesturing skyward. "I thank God."
Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.
